Oxidizing apparatus.



M. J. CHAPLIN.

OXIDIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY27, I9I5- Patent d May 16, 1916.

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WITNESSES: v l/VVE/V TOR r Maw/e Chap/u) a By 7 ATTORNEY i To all whom it may concern:

I STATES PATEXT OFF-ICE.

MANLEY J. OHAPLINJOF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOB OI ONE-HALF TO "WILLIAM A. INGHAM, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

O XIDIZING Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed my 27, 1915. Serial 110. 42,179.

Be it known that I, MANLEY J. GHAPLIN, a citizenof the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented, certain new and useful Improvements in Oxidizing Apparation. 16

tus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for retorting and subsequently recovering certain metals, such as antimony and zinc, from ores; and its object is the improvement in apparatus of this character. to render the same more efficient and economical in opera- With these ends in view the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of devices as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a .vertical transverse section of the furnace portion of the apparatus taken through 22 of Fig. 1. Flg. 3 is 'a longitudinal vertical section through .33 of Fig. 1 to illustrate the internal arrangement of the preferredform of oxidlzing chamber. Fig. 4 is a. transverse vertical section of the furnace feed-hopper; and

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of such hopper.

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal section taken substantially through 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the reference numeral 6 represents the conoidal outer wall of a furnace having positioned centrally therein a similar shaped inner wall 7'toprovide therebetweenan annular space where the 'fuel is burned upon a grate 8. 'Below the grate is an ash-pit 9 having an opening Y 9 through which access is had for the removal of. ashes, etc., said opening being provided with a door 10 having a damper which may be adjusted to regulate the admission of air for combustion purposes to the, under side of the fire. Inclosed by a floor 11 and the inner wall 7 of said furnace is a chamber 12 wherein air is heated and having near its top peripherally disposed.

discharge openings 13"-and with an air supply pipe 141 connecting the lower end of said chamber with the external atmosphere. By the admission' of preheated air through openings 13 above the fuel is provided'the necessary chemical condition for the perfect combustion of the gases, such as carbon monoxid,.whi ch are driven fromthe solid 4) to afford fuel-that is to saythe diffusion of air at a high temperature to supply the requisite amount of oxygpn to render the fuel gases combustlble. rojecting upwardly from the furnace wall6 is a cylindrical extension 6 having a side outlet into a chimney 15 and at its upper end a fuel feeding opening provided with a lid or cover plate 16. Sur- 17 represents an annular plate constituting the floor of the chamber 20 and is rotatably supported upon rollers, such as 17 23. represents an annular plate suspended by hangers 24 and wheels 25 from a circular track 26 which is rigidly secured to the furnace extension 6 The hangers 24 also serve to carry a circular rack 27 which isengaged by a spur pinion 28 provided on a shaft 29 1ournaled in bearing boxes 30. This shaft may berotated in any suitable manner as, for instance, by a power driven belt (not shown) passing about a pulley 31 fixedly secured to the shaft and which belt may be rendered inoperative to drive the shaft by shifting the same to a loosepulley 32. Said plate is protected from the direct heat obtaining in the chamber 20 by a slab 23 'of refractory material applied to the under side of the plate. i

34 represents a feed box secured to theplate 23 and having a discharge spout 34 which.

extends through an aperture of such plate into the retort so as to deposit the material tobe treated upon the outer peripheral surface 6 of thewall 6. Operable within the feed box 34 is a rotary member 35 mounted on an axle 36 and provided with a plurality of radially disposed partitions 35 (Fig.

1pockets 37 to respectively accommodate c arges of material which are to be transferred from the upper end of the box through the medium of the various pockets as they are revolubly brought into register with the opening provided in the neck 34 of said spout.

Fixedly secured to end of the axle 36 is a ratchet wheel 38 which is actuated through 110 of an oscillatory lever 40 whose other arm is connected by a link 41 with a vibratory arm 42 depending froma pivotal pin secured to the box. A spring 43 serves to yieldingly hold the lever 40 against a stop 41. \Vhen the feed box is revolved with the plate 23 the arm 42 successively encounters lugs or protuberances 44 rovidedon the ring 19 and is thereby in uenced to affect through the medium of the pawl and ratchet wheel rotary movements to the member 35 to successively carry the pockets 37 thereof into positions to deliver charges carried .therein.

29 represents a sprocket chain drive for transmitting rotary movements through the agency of wheels 29 from the shaft29 to a shaft 29 Upon the latter is mounted a toothed pinion 29* which engages theteeth of a circularrack 17 depending from the floor plate 17 to impart rotary motion thereto.

Provided in the wall 17 is an opening 21 for the discharge of slag from the retort, said opening being connected with an inclined conduit 21 which may have its other end open into an air-tight receptacle which is not illustrated. When such receptacle is removed or opened for the removal of the accumulated slag, the retort opening 21 is temporarily closed by a door 22 hingedly connected to the wall 17 at one side of the opening so that when the door is swung into its full open position (Fig. 6) it will serve to scrape the floor plate'17 during the ro-- tation thereof and to direct the slag through the opening 21. The door is connected by a link 22 with a lever 22 extending outside ofthe conduit 21 so that the operator may gonveniently regulate the position of the oor. p

The fumes or gaseousf products derived from the material being'treated in the retort are conducted from the upper end of the latter by a duct 45 into a pipe 46 wherein the elements of such products which are to be recovered combine with the oxygen of the air admitted at theopen end 46 of this pipe. The oxid thus produced together with the elements which are uncombined with the oxid are withdrawn from the pipe by means of a power driven fan or blower, indicated by 46 and discharged into an end of a receptacle 47 having at its other end adischarge opening 48 into a stack 49, whence the wastejgases are exhausted into the atmosphere; Y

The receptacle 47 is characterized by beingdivided by partitions 5O and 50 into compartments 51, 51 and 51 which communicate with each other .by gassages provided above said partitions. aid compartments are furthermore divided by partitions 52, 52 fand 52 extending downwardly from the top of the receptacle to within a short toms of such compartments.

distance of the bottoms of the respective compartments to provide passages thereat between the spaces at opposite sldes of the last named partitions. By such an arrangement of partitions I provide a series of alternating diving and ascending flues 'to direct in a sinuous course, as denoted by the arrows in Fig. 3, the flow of the gases throughthe receptacle. v

The oxid is in a finely comminuted form mingled with the gases and inthe travel with the latter in the receptacle becomes separated therefrom and is deposited as a powder in the bottoms of the various compartments, whence it may be removed by opening the doors 53 provided at the bot- To facilitate the separation of the particles of oxid from the waste gases there is preferably provided in each of the referred to ascending flues a screen 54, each of said screens being adapted to be oscillated by a crank handle 55 to shake any of the oxid which may adhere to a screen.

with pulverized material in any convenient manner, as by a chute 59 leading from a hopper, not shown.

' In' operation, the feed plate 23 is rotated, as explained, to revolve the feed box 34 about the axis of the furnace and, in such travel with the feed box, the arm 42 'successively' encounters the lugs 44 to be actuated thereby to impart intermittent rotary motion to the member 35 whereby the material is progressively discharged. from the various pockets 37 into the chamber20 and upon the sloping face 6 of the wall 6.

By means of member 35 rotating during its orbital travel, the material is distributed in an even manner upon the hot wall 6, resulting in the liberation of the volatile portions of the material in the form of gas,

while the residue slag falls upon the floor 17 The gas thus produced escapes through duct 45 into the pipe 46 to have a portion of it become oxidized therein, which is finally saved within the receptacle 47 as above explained.

What I claim is, t

1. In apparatus of the class described, an annular retort having its inner peripheral Wall of a conoidal shape, means to heat said wall, devices arranged for orbital movements about the axis of said chamber for progressively feeding material upon said wall to effect the separation of the volatile portions therefrom.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a

circular retort, a furnace provided interiorly thereof, a rotary device for feeding material into said retort and upon the wall of said furnace, means to efiect the revolution of said device, about the axis of the retort, and means influenced by the revoluble .movement of said devicewhereby the latter is caused to rotate to distribute the material upon the wall of the furnace.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a retort of an annular shape havin a conoidal inner wall, means to heat said wall, a rotary plate constituting a portion of the roof of said retort, means to rotate said plate, a material feeding box revolubly carried by said plate and provided with a spout extending through the latter to direct the material against said wall, a member provided within the box, and means rendered operative by the revolution of said box whereby said memberis intermittently rotatedto cause the same to successively 'transfer charges of material from the upper end of the box into said'spout.

4. In apparatus of the class described,

, the combination with a retort and means for heating the same, of means for feeding material to be treated in the retort, said means comprising a movable box having a dischargespout' extending into the retort, devices for transferring predetermined quantities of the material from the upper end of said box for the delivery of the same through said spout, and means influenced by the travel of said box to-actuate said devices.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a retort, a furnace disposed centrally thereof and provided with a conoidal wall, an air heating chamber-provided interiorly of the furnaceand provided with air inlet and outlet openings adjacent to the bottom and top of the heating chamber, and means to deposit the material to be treated upon the upper portion of said conoidal wall of said furnace.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a circular retort having inner and outer concentrically disposed walls, said outer wall being provided with a discharge opening, of an annular plate interposed between said walls. and serving as the floor ,for the retorting chamber, means to rotate'said plate, and a door provided for said opening andadapted when opened to serve as a scraper to remove ma 8. In apparatus of the class described, a i

retorting chamber inclosed between an outer wall and an inner wall, said inner wall having a sloping surface, means to heat said inner wall, and means to cause material to fall upon the upper portion of said sloping wall surface and be acted, upon by heat derived from the latter as the material descends the wall through the force of gravity. I

9. In apparatus of the class described, a furnace having a sloping outer wall, a retorting chamber surrounding said furnace, and means to feed material directly upon said. sloping wall to enable the volatile portions of such material to be vaporized by .the heat derived from the furnace.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 15th day of July, 1915.

MANLEY J. CHAPLIN.

Witnesses PIERRE BARNES, HORACE BARNES. 

